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Eleven Years Ago This Week
An excerpt from a colleague (Pr. Jeff Wilson, formerly at Bethel – Manassas and now at
Holy Trinity in Buffalo NY) marking the eleventh anniversary of the Massacre of the
Emanuel Nine.
On June 17, 2015, a young white man walked into the basement of Mother Emanuel
AME Church in Charleston, SC. He was warmly greeted by the African American adults
gathered there as usual for Prayer and Bible Study and invited to participate with them.
About an hour later, he pulled a handgun out of his backpack and began shooting at
those who welcomed him. Nine of them died from the gun in his hands, after which he
quietly walked out of the church and disappeared.
The nine people he murdered that evening are now known as the Emanuel Nine (you
can read their bios at the link below).
The young man, Dylan Roof, had been raised in an ELCA congregation near Columbia,
SC. Two of the people he killed had studied and earned degrees from an ELCA
seminary - the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia.
We are inextricably linked to this grotesque tragedy, no matter how we abhor it.
Today, as every year since this tragic day, we remember them, their faith, and the power
of grace and forgiveness shown by victims and families in the aftermath.
One survivor said: “To heal we must forgive. That’s what I’ve learned this past year…So
much hate. Too much. But as scripture says, ‘Love never fails.’ So, I choose love.
Hatred…Racism…Injustice. We can’t hide from these truths. Together we can fight for
change. Together we can heal. Together we can love.” – Polly Sheppard, Survivor
May our hearts and souls be as expansive, as courageous and as strong as described
by these memorable words.
Shalom.
Pr. Mark
Bio's of victims slained
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